Saving us both
by Addictedreader09
Summary: Light has died but finds he doesn't go to Mu/nothingness because of the wish of one certain airy detective. but will Light accept being in the man's debt? nah...when there's a will there's a way hmmm... possibly yaoi later, right now its there if u squint
1. in the afterlife

**okay this is my fist deathnote fanfic... so i don't exactly know where i wanna go with it so for now just sit tight and hopefully i'll update soon**

**oh and i don't own deathnote or anything like that

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Light opened his eyes to see a garden, a garden similar to the pictures of the Garden of Eden. He sat up staring around him, he knew he had died, he had seen Ryuk's laughing face writing down his name. That meant that right now his should be in Mu or nothingness as per all Death note users, yet he was not. As he got stiffly to his feet, a woman stepped into his view. She was clad in a pure white robe that shimmered gently as she moved. She looked so familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. He was about to open his mouth to ask where he was when she spoke. Her voice sounded like softly blowing wind. "Yagami Light," she said, "welcome to the afterlife." Light stared at her in disbelief, had Ryuk lied to him about going to Mu? He should not be here, not at all. As if to answer his thoughts, the woman spoke, "if you wonder why you are here, I can show you why." Light gave a slight nod, his head still slightly reeling from the fact that he was not trapped in a world of nothingness.

Light followed the woman through the garden silently, in the distance he saw people dressed in the same white robes as the woman, but many more that were not. He wondered what the difference was. He turned to the woman to ask, but she was already answering his question. Could she read minds? Light thought. "The people in white robes are Guardians, they bring souls of the deceased here to be cleansed and ready for rebirth. The ones dressed as they were when they died are those souls," she looked forward at a tower in the distance. "I'm not supposed to be here though," Light murmured. " I know Kira," she replied, "You're here because of the sacrifice of one who loved you and one I loved." Light looked up at her in confusion. "Who?" he asked. She did not reply but kept walking.

Soon they reached the white tower they had seen in the distance. Although the tower was beautiful, there was a slightly cold, dreary feeling to it, as if happiness could not exist around it. "Come," the woman said to Light. Light followed her obediently and they reached an ornately decorated door that stretched as far as the eye could see. They walked through the door and once inside Light could only stare. The inside was gorgeous. Everything was a pearly white with silver accents and there were flowing words that glowed and looked Arabic on the walls stretching all the way to the roof. Light noticed one other things, there were only to doors in the building. "What is this place?" Light asked curiously. The woman turned around to look him full in the face. She looked cold and deadly as she replied, "This is where the souls who are ready to be reborn come," she pointed to one door with red glowing symbols, "and there," she pointed to another door which had black glowing symbols splashed across it, "is where the man who saved your soul will lie for eternity!!!"

Light stared at her in shock as she raised her hand and brought it harshly down against Light's face. Suddenly a man appeared out of the door with the red symbols. "Ah," he said smiling, "Light-kun, welcome the tower of Eternity and Life. I just got done sending a certain pair rogues back down to Earth, I think you know who I'm talking about Light, there was a blonde and a red-head." The man gave lopsided grin and Light immediately connected his thoughts. "I want to show him," the woman suddenly interjected. The man's grin faltered and he glanced at Light, but then he nodded. "Go on ahead," he said inclining his head toward the door with black markings.

The woman nodded and walked toward the door and placed her hand on it and watched as it swung open.

Light let his eyes adjust to the blackness of the room and when it did, all he could do was gasp. In rows spanning the entire room there were bodies floating in nothingness. A slight glow emanated from each of the bodies and that was all the light there was. The woman pulled him further into the room, Light followed blindly only aware of the sleeping forms he passed by. 'What is this?' he thought, his mind trying to form possible conclusions. However, seeing as how he had recently died, his mind was not up to par yet, so he allowed himself to be tugged along.

They soon reached the furthest end of the room and Light was struggling to breath. 'Damn,' he thought, 'I'm dead so why does it feel like I've bust a lung.' All other thoughts died though as he realized who the woman had dragged him too. 'Oh god,' he thought, as his mind frantically struggled to get up to its usual because in front of him lay L. L in all his dark yet pale glory, L, who had been the only challenge, the only anomaly in Light's perfect life. Light then realized with a pang he had missed this man, more so than he had missed his father when he died. This L however looked younger and more peaceful. There was even a hint of a smile on his face. Then Light's brain finally decided to take itself out of its stupor and dots began to connect. He stared at the woman, surprise and curiosity in his face.

"Why is he like this?" Light asked softly as if afraid to wake the souls around him. The woman looked up from where she had been staring at L with one of the most caring looks Light had ever seen. In a softer voice, she spoke not looking at Light, "He chose to be like this. He said that he'd choose to be like this for eternity because," here she paused looking up to Light and he saw anguish in her eyes, "because he felt indebted to _you_." Light stared at her, the comprehension not quite there yet. So she continued, but seemingly onto a different topic.

"Once there was a woman who was one of the world's top spies. As time went on, she could no longer bear the pain of what her actions did to world, so she went through a transformation and tried to save the world. She did everything humanly possible to rid herself of that guilt-helping in third world countries, donating money, setting up orphanages and rest homes for the homeless, anything she could think of. When it came down to the final act, she failed. An enemy spy shot the woman and at that time she was about to give birth. She barely managed to make it to a hospital, in final breath she wasn't able to help the one she loved most," the woman looked up at Light, "I'm his mother, I was given an option of being a guardian because of my deeds and so I could wait to be resurrected with my son." Light realized then she was crying. "I watched over him, saw what he became, a part of me was devastated that he was so isolated from love and affection. Then Kira came along, a new challenge for him, but I knew in my heart that my son would not survive because he was dealing after all with gods of death, so I waited for him to come here. I didn't realize that he had found those emotions he lacked in you." Light wanted to say something at that point but found himself speechless and a new emotion was stirring in him, but he was not sure what. Light felt terrible and more than a little uncomfortable looking at the crying woman, he had had her son killed and now she couldn't even be reborn with him.

The woman continued, "after you killed him." Wait, Light thought 'Rem killed him' but he knew that wasn't really the case. "he came here, I didn't see him for awhile and I didn't realize that he was ready to pass through the afterlife quicker than others. I barely managed to reach this tower before I found out he had made a deal, a deal to spend eternity here in this room to give you a chance at being reborn."

Light looked down at L's resting form and wondered what had possessed the man to make such a deal. Back when L had been alive he had shown no inclinations that he like Light at all. Light stared hard at L, 'why?' he wondered, 'we were both geniuses and thought practically on the same wavelength, but still...' light's thoughts were cut off by the woman, who had begun speaking again.

"Are you ready to pass on Yagami Light?" she asked coldly, "I wasn't able to help my son pass on to a new life, but I will help the one he cared for most."

Light looked up at her, oh how he wanted to be able to move on and stay in this room in nothingness for eternity, but…

He looked up and stared at the woman head on, "I will not leave here unless he comes with me!" Light could feel his heart pounding (if souls can feel that kind of thing). The woman stared at him for a moment in surprise but then she gave him the tiniest hint of a smile.

"I think I can help you with that," she murmured walking back across the room to the door. Light followed not sure what was about to happen.

Light was led back out the door away from L. He couldn't help but turn back for one last look in case it might be the last one. L never moved and the door shut with a soft swish of air. Light turned back to face the woman, he was expecting them to leave the tower but they didn't. Instead, they walked further into the tower. The hall they walked through was eerily quiet. Light felt slightly disturbed at the silence because it allowed his mind to wander to thoughts he'd rather not think about. Some thoughts settled on his current predicament but most of them were on the still form inside the room of eternity.

_Why did he do that? I'm quite sure that he hated me, especially since I let him know I was Kira as he was **dying**. So why did he sacrifice his own rebirth for mine? And how the heck did he know I wasn't going to be reborn? Did Rem tell him? Damn I've never been so confused in my entire life… and well death too. In addition, what the hell is up with this woman? She looks nothing like L, how can she be his mother? She gorgeous and L's still pretty darn ugly. _Even as Light thought this, he knew the resemblance was still there. Both had those strange piercing eyes that seemed to go right through you. Those eyes had always got to Light, especially since he knew that L knew he was guilty. But still, Light had always found L's panda eyes quite adorable. '_Wait, did I just say adorable' _Light felt a little flushed at that thought. Before his mind could travel down any other obscure pathway, they stopped. The woman (Raito wished he knew her name) had stopped the pair in front of a pair of gilded double doors.

She pressed one hand firmly against the door. It didn't open but it glowed a faint blue color around her hand. "The council will convene for you soon to help you with this _dilemma._ I don't know whether or not they can help you, but I know L came to them first also." "What kind of council?" Light asked. There was no reply as the door swung open easily. Light felt blinded for a moment by the light emanating from the room. Light stepped into the very well lit room and saw to his surprise it was full of people. The room was built like an ancient Greek amphitheater. The seats rose up high and every row was full of the so-called 'Guardians'. Light realized that a majority of the light came from these beings and what appeared to be and open ceiling. As they entered the chamber, all eyes turned to them. Light suddenly felt unnerved to feel hundreds of eyes focused on him.

A voice from above suddenly called out to them, "So Leila, what is so urgent that you need to call a council? These little meetings are getting a little to frequent for my taste. After all we just had one, what five years ago?" The voice belonged to a man sitting in what seemed like the thirteenth row. The man reminded Light of Near, although he looked much better. Light still immediately took a disliking to this man; he seemed too haughty and prideful for his own good. He leaked confidence and had an air of pure power about him. Like all the other Guardians, he wore the same pale white robe, but that very same robe seemed more vibrant and lively on him.

"Light wishes that L accompany him in their rebirth," Leila said coolly. "Oh, so that's why you are helping him. A mother's love, this man tries to help your son and you immediately jump at his whim," the man gave slight chuckle, "Why do you bother? Just because you were the boy's mother in your last life doesn't mean you were his in any other one. We only remember the past life given to us, but you are a Guardian now, you should forget about the kid." The rest of the man's statement was made blandly and in an uncaring manner. Leila's face however, seemed to contort with both anger and sadness. Light felt very sorry for her at the moment and he remembered his mother. With that thought came unbidden anguish for Light. L's mother was probably very proud of him, but what about Light's own mother? How did she feel when she found out that her son was a mass murderer? Light hoped she understood that he had only been trying to make a better world for her and his sister.

"So Light-kun," the man drawled slowly, "what do you want us to do for you?" Before Light could reply though, another voice interrupted to address the other man.

"We do don't make deals with the corrupt souls, Neko, even if they have been allowed to be cleansed and reborn." This statement came from another older looking Guardian. Light felt a slight jolt of annoyance course through him. 'What the hell?' he thought, 'that guy makes me seem like I was completely in the wrong.'

"Well," the man named Neko replied, "the man can't be all that corrupted if he wants to bring that other man back with him."

"You only think that because of what-" the man was abruptly cut off by a deadly glare from Neko. All the other Guardians had turned to stare at the two, completely ignoring Leila and Light. Light watched the two go off on a tangent and he was no longer sure what they were trying to say. It seemed however, that many of the Guardians did not trust Neko and many of them were in agreement with the older Guardian.

Suddenly Leila gave a loud cry, "For God's sake SHUT UP!!!!!" She looked very annoyed. Neko turned back to look at them, as did all the other Guardians. Once again Light found himself under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes. Those eyes all seem to want something from him, but he wasn't sure what.

"All right," came the sigh from the older Guardian, "what is it that you want, Yagami Light?"

Light felt slightly awkward standing there in the middle of the floor, surround by the Guardians. He wasn't even sure what he wanted, everything had seemed very rushed. He had just died and they were already asking about his reincarnation. Light decided to take a moment to collect himself. 'Okay, what do I want,' somehow coming to conclusion of what he wanted was slightly difficult. He could just leave L as he was and never have to remember any of this, but when he died again L's mother would probably make his life hell. 'Besides', he thought, 'now I feel like I owe L something. A very big something.' Light didn't like that feeling, being indebted to L was something his pride couldn't take. There were a few _other_ reasons why he wanted L to reborn also, but Light squashed those thoughts rather fiercely.

So he turned to face to the seated Guardians, his face expressionless, but confident. "I humbly request that great beings such as yourselves allow the soul L to be reborn with me," 'god,' he thought, 'that sounded like crap.'

After Light made his request, the murmuring began. He could see most of the Guardians turn to other ones to discuss what he had just asked. There were a few not doing anything, one of those being Neko. Leila wasn't giving any input either, she stood next Light watching the other Guardians with a guarded look. Light, however, was looking at the Guardians in the front row. There were thirteen of them and they all had their eyes closed, not saying anything or giving any input. "Who are they?" Light whispered to Leila. "They are the original Guardians, the first thirteen who were here to guide the rest of us." Light stared at them for a moment. Of all the Guardians, they looked the oldest. They seem to capture an essence of purity and calmness. Looking at them, Light could feel himself relaxing. It seemed they were absorbing what was said, but not contributing.

After awhile the conversations began to die down and one of the thirteen Guardians who had not said anything stood up. She turned to face the other Guardians.

"We understand what you all have been discussed and this issue has been unprecedented, so…" she turned back to Light, "Light-kun, we regret to inform you that we do are not able to grant your wish. However, " here she paused briefly and glanced upward to Neko. He gave a slight smirk and the woman continued. "I believe someone here can help you with your request."

At her words, a slight movement came from the top and Neko stood up languidly, giving Light a slow, lazy smile.

At her words, Neko stood up from where he sat. He gave Light a languid smile and walked down to the center floor. He then turned to the thirteen Guardians in the front. "We will trust you to handle this Neko," said one of the Guardians, "We believe that L does deserve this chance and since you made L's previous deal, we will let you continue. Is this agreeable to the rest of you?" the last part she spoke to the of the Guardians sitting. In unison, there was a single nod of head. Neko gave a bow and turned to Light and Leila. His face had turned solemn. "Come Light-kun, you may come to Leila." Leila followed them stiffly, not making any eye contact with Neko.

Light wondered about that, but didn't feel comfortable asking. They left the room and the tower itself, leaving behind the other Guardians and _L._ Light was about to ask where they were going but Neko spoke first; it was addressed to Leila. "You know you shouldn't hate me. I only did what he asked. He wanted it and he wouldn't have been able to pass on even if I hadn't shown him how."

There was no response from Leila, only a stiffening of the shoulder and a clenched fist. Clearly mother's love or something, Light thought. He also wondered where the heck they were going. After all the entire place looked like one giant paradise garden other than the tower, so Light tried figure out what they were going to do. They kept walking for god knew how long. Light kept seeing trees and flowers and then more trees and flowers. Occasionally he would see some other soul or Guardian but that was rare. Finally Neko decided to speak, "Light, the only way to allow L to be reborn is if you make a deal with the King of the Shinagami's." Light stopped walking, as did Leila, they both stared at Neko in shock.

Neko continued, "Death came before rebirth, so it only makes sense that the King of all the Shinagamis would have more power than us Guardians."

"Did L come to you also?" Light asked.

"Yeah, he did, I was the Guardian who first went to get him when he arrived. Then he said that a shinagami named Rem told him about the whole Mu thing and some other stuff about Deathnote users and he wanted me to help him. I was a little surprised but I decided to help him. He seemed very serious."

Light was a little surprised Rem had told L about Mu. He wondered if Rem had told L so he could help Misa. Maybe Rem had thought L had liked Misa, but that was impossible. L was simply too smart for her, he needed someone to match his intellect. Suddenly Leila spoke, "Do you know how to get into the Shinagami world, Neko? If so, how did you find out?"

Neko gave a crooked smile. "Leila, I would have thought someone would have told you, we Guardians can get into the Shinagami world anytime we want and it's a secret how I know." "WHAT!!" Light shouted, "Then what the hell are we doing still walking around." Light was finding that his dislike of the man was increasing. "Well I just thought a nice walk would be in order but if you guys are ready we can go now," Neko said laughing; he clearly was not taking this seriously.

"All right, Leila all you have to do is think that you want to go to the Shinagami world and you'll be there. Light, you however need to keep your mind absolutely blank."

"What no flashy portal or door to the Shinagami world?" Light muttered sarcastically. Neko gave him a disparaging glance and held out his hand. Light stared at it for a moment and then took it. He tried to keep his mind clear as possible not exactly understanding why he had to. Then he felt a gut-wrenching sensation as if he was falling.

"All right, here we are," Neko said. Light opened his eyes and grimaced.


	2. Atonement

**Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!!!!!! thanks for all the input!!!! i'm really having fun with this story, i hope you all are too**

**okay well here's the next part, i've decided to them in small chunks soooo yea read on!!!

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"Well this place is rather drab," Light said coolly, but internally thought 'WHAT A DUMP'. The Shinagami World really was quite disgusting and very bleak, which is why the two Guardians around Light stood out like a sore thumb.

"Well Light-kun, not everyone lives up to your standards all the time and I'm sure they've gotten used to this. Well let's get moving, see that castle over there?" Neko said pointing to what looked like a pile of giant dinosaur bones piled a mile high. "That's where the Shinagami King is and he'll probably make a deal with you or something."

Light nodded once and began to move forward. The other two following close behind. Leila looked around her furtively; she seemed frightened by the place. Light however strode purposely forward, he came here to get something and he very well would. Light couldn't tell how long he had been walking but he sure as hell felt bored. The two Guardians behind him were not offering any conversational points either. After a long debilitating walk they finally arrived at the "pile of bones." As it turned out, Shinagamis were actually architecturally brilliant. The castle, if one wanted to call it that, looked like a giant Gothic cathedral with spires reaching out into the heavens. It was colorless however, everything was in a gray scale and frighteningly quiet.

It wasn't until they reached the gates that they met their first shinagami. Then Neko took over and went to talk with the shinagami. Light couldn't hear anything but hushed muttering and the occasional chuckle, which irritated him to no end. Finally after about ten minutes Neko returned and the Shinagami opened the gates into the castle. Another gross looking shinagami led them down a long dark hallway. There was no light save for what was given off by flickering candles. The light cast dim shadows in an already eerie corridor. Light found himself occasionally tripping over things in the dark but found himself uncomfortable in finding out what he was tripping over. At the end to the hall red light flowed in. At the end of the hall there was large atrium flooded with the red light.

In the center was a cloaked figure draped in black, sitting atop a pile of intricately placed bones. An unfamiliar setting but with a similar set up, Light thought as he stared at the hordes of Shinagamis enclosing the cloaked figure. The shinagami who had been leading them went up to the cloaked shape and spoke quietly to it. "Welcome, Yagami to the Shinagami world," the cloaked figure said, the voice sounding dry and cracked, "are you truly here to reverse one of my previous deals?"

Light knew that it spoke of L's deal, so he nodded his head. A slight condescending sniff came from the being. "So are you willing to put yourself into a state of nothing for eternity for this man? Because that is a way to reverse what has been done."

Light wasn't sure whether he particularly like that option and he was sure that when L found out he'd just undo whatever Light did. There had to be another option, one where the both of them could be free. "You said that was _a way_ so that means there are other possible deals that I can make right?"

That brought a chuckle from the thing's mouth. "Clever boy aren't ya, just like that skinny little detective. Well, if you don't like what I'm offering, make me another deal, one I'll like."

The ambiguity of that statement made Light's mind scream. He did not need this right now. He took some deep calming breaths to clear his mind. What should he say? He knew that shinagamis like Ryuk liked games and to be amused, so perhaps if he made this into a challenge would the king accept it? "Well, what if you let me earn back my place in the natural order of things? Think of it as atonement, but you can set the rules." Light knew he was making a gamble when he suggested the Shinagami could make the rules and the fact that he said atonement surprised him. In a part of his mind Light still thought he had done the right thing by being Justice. However, it seemed as if saying those things paid off because the cloaked figure looked like he was considering the idea. Then he signaled a few other shinagamis to come forward around him, and then to Light's astonishment he called forward Neko too. A long perturbed silence stretched, filling the room until finally the group finished conversing. Then to Light's extreme discomfort many of them were grinning as they went back to their respective places, the look Light received from Neko however, was a smug one.

There was a slight shift coming from the shinagami king, and then he flung back the hood of his cloak to reveal a leering countenance. "All right Light-kun, we've set the rules for your _atonement_."

Neko then walked to the front and stood before Light near the shinagami king. "Light-kun," he began, his voice resounding through the entire hall, "his highness, the king of Shinagami, agrees to your request; that you and L may be reborn upon these conditions: for every innocent person killed directly or indirectly by you, they must be avenged. This means that you will have to save eighteen people directly. Do you wish to know what eighteen people you are accountable for?"

Light stared at Neko for a moment, "Yeah, I want to know who I have to make up for." In his mind Light knew a couple of them but wasn't sure who the others could be. There seemed to many possibilities at this point although no matter how hard Light thought there seemed to be only one innocent person in his mind. The rest he couldn't help thinking that they hadn't been all that innocent and that they all had been obstructing justice. The rest had deserved to die, but clearly these fools just like the others in the living world hadn't seen it as such.

Neko gave a slight nod before continuing, "the innocent deaths that we deem you responsible are the thirteen FBI agents (1), one Naomi Misora, Theirry Morello (2), Merrie Kenwood (3), and Quillish Wammy."

Light totaled the names in his head-there were one missing. Neko gave a cruel smile and said, "oh and of course there's little L who wasn't just innocent but also stuck in Mu." Even though Light knew who it was, to here it come from someone else sounded oddly harsh. Leila must have thought so too because she suddenly spoke, "enough of these games Neko, just tell him what else he has to do." Neko gave a slight frown and the king of the shinagami gave a dry laugh and then spoke, "she's right Neko, don't take it out on the poor boy. You still have a chance to do the same thing for her-" Neko who continued abruptly cut him off in a frigid voice and continued, "since you of all Deathnote users killed so many people the total at about 5,000 plus your task is save the same amount of people either indirectly or directly. We give you the choice of indirectly because you out of many of the other Deathnote users had pure although very narrow intentions."

Light wanted to argue against those other 5,000 deaths. Those had been of criminals, why should he have to pay for ridding the world of evil. He kept his mouth shut though because he knew there was no other way of saving L. Then the Shinagami king spoke, "to make this easier on you or maybe it will be harder, we decided that upon your rebirth you retain all memories from your past life and this little deal we have made. How does that sound? This way you start right off with your _redemption._" There was a few chuckles coming from a few other shinagami.

"Anything resulting in failure will put you and L into a permanent state of Mu for… oh say eternity," the shinagami king said.

Light nodded, his mind still going over the simple yet very difficult rules. He had so many questions yet he didn't want to ask any of them, he just wanted to go and get started. He didn't know whether he could complete this task that was assigned to him. Light shook his head and steeled himself. He had never failed at anything before and he wouldn't do that now. Not when this task was so much more important than anything he had ever done before.

"One more thing that I should mention," came the raspy voice of the king, "L will be reborn with you, after all since you are doing this, he should get one last chance to have a rebirth before he gets trapped for eternity again."

Light felt his blood boil at that statement. '_How dare that disgusting creature doubt my ability to succeed? God, if he wasn't a death god I'd…' _Light wanted to say something but he doubted that it would be in his best interest to refute anything. So he stood there in silent mutiny although no one could tell.

It seemed as though the meeting was now over because the other shinagamis all began to disperse and disappear. Neko moved toward Light and Leila, his eyes showed something that Light found disturbing, it was a challenge, but for what Light couldn't tell.

"Well, Light-kun, it seems you got what you wanted, so now we'll be returning to we can get reborn."

"Where do you come off be spokesman for the King of Death?" Light demanded.

Neko gave a slightly feral grin and replied, "I have my secrets and I intend to keep them that way. You should just worry about saving yourself and that little raven of yours."

Light felt angry at Neko's words but also felt himself heating up when Neko called L his 'raven.' So he turned away before Neko could make any more obscene comments and said gruffly, "I can't do anything here so hurry up so we can get back."

Neko smiled behid Light's back and step forward. They left the chamber silently and walked through the subdued hall. As they reached the exit to the outside a long, grisly shadow crossed their path. Leila who had been silent the entire time let out a small startled gasp when the thing spoke. "Hello Light-kun, long time no see."

Light looked up and to his horror, there was the thing that had ended his life. He felt resentment build up in his chest but he managed to squash it done and said in a lofty tone, "Same to you Ryuk." For a moment the entire group merely stared at each other, until finally Light decided to break it by moving forward. No one said anything as they walked past the death god. All in all, Light found the moment to be quite awkward. What could a person say to the one who killed them? That thought led Light to thinking of L and what would happen when he was woken up. Before Light could take his thoughts any further, Ryuk spoke again, but Light never turned around. "Light, I think I'm going to enjoy seeing you reborn. I think I'll see you on the other side too." Then he gave his characteristically comical laugh and vanished.

It took less time to get back to the afterlife this time around. No one speaking still, it was as if the visit to the Shinagami world had sapped all their strength to communicate. It was only when they reached the tower did Leila finally speak. "Will L be awake then? I don't believe that the Guardians, even the 13 Guardians don't have the power to awaken someone from Mu."

Neko seemed to ponder the question for a moment until finally turning to her, "we'll just have to see won't we." He then proceeded to enter the tower. They headed toward the room with the black symbols etched on it. Light had a disturbing feeling in his gut, like something was going to be wrong. He still entered the room however, following Neko and Leila. They moved through the quiet room heading to area where L was. When they reached him Light felt disappointment and anger course through him. L was not awake at all. His face still showed the same serene expression it had before.

Light reached out to place his hand on L's forehead, when L's eyes flashed open. He sat up straight and let out a loud rasping breath as if he had been holding it. Then he locked eyes with Light. Neither of them said anything for a moment and as Light was about to open his mouth, L's hand curled into a fist which connected with Light's jaw.

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NOTES

1. 12 agents raye

2. Aiber

3. Wedy

happy reading!!!


	3. Rebirth

SOOO SORRY if the characters are oc but i think from this point on i'm making L OC. 

hope that everyone understands my story!!!! have fun reading

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Light fell to the ground clutching his face. He gave a loud groan, "Fuck Ryuzaki! What the hell are you doing?"

"Why am I awake _Kira_?!? What the hell did you do?" L said his voice shaking slightly, his fist still raised in the air. Light winced, not from the pain but from L calling him Kira. Light had been wondering what L would do when he saw him, but now that it had happened it was sort of painful in more ways than one. He wanted to answer the question but found he couldn't. L didn't seem quite done either, this time it was an opened handed smack to the side of Light's face. He was about to have another go but at that Light shot straight up. He was not going to tolerate this, getting beat up by a malnourished, creepy detective was not on his lists of to dos. 'Stupid, ungrateful bastard' Light thought as he aimed a well-timed punch into L's stomach. He heard Leila give a gasp and step forward but L had recovered and launched himself at Light.

The both of them crashed into the stone table that another soul was laying on. It was a rather painful crash especially for Light who had taken the brunt of the impact. For a moment the scuffle continued with muffled gasps of pain and the occasional "you ass" comment. Leila had tried to separate them, but the two of them weren't having any of that. Neko held her back so she would not get injured in the fight and all she could do was watch helplessly. Light had the height and weight advantage, which seemed to carry over into the afterlife also, so he was able grab hold of L to stop him but L had agility on his side and brought his leg up to ram Light in the chest. Light dropped like a log at the impact, the wind knocked out of him. He looked up at L who was panting slightly from the force he had had to exert and he to his surprise he saw fear in L's eyes. Before he could analyze what he saw any further L was at him again. This was so unlike L though so Light knew something was wrong. He quickly reached up and brought L crashing down to floor. Light attempted to cushion the fall but L was struggling so the impact was rather harsh for L. L clawed at him like a caged animal and Light kept holding him down to make sure he'd stop struggling.

When Light was sure that L wasn't going to get up and hit him again, he got off. Neko had let go of Leila also and she moved toward L. L sat up, he seemed to have calmed down and whatever emotion he had been feeling previously had faded away to leave the same blank face Light had gotten used to seeing. When he caught Light's eye he turned away quickly, looking distinctly uncomfortable. It was then he turned to look at Leila. She stared down at L, her eyes filled with emotions only a mother could have for her child even if the child had never really been childlike to begin with. L stared blankly back at her, his black eyes showing nothing.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously, all trace of fight had left him and he was biting his thumb as per usual.

Leila seemed unsure how to answer to question. She appeared to be debating what to tell L. She inhaled sharply and spoke, "L… I'm…I'm your mother." The word mother came out in a whisper but L still heard it. He looked horrified, which was strange for someone who just met their mother even if they both were dead. Leila looked at him worriedly, she didn't seem to know what to do and Light didn't blame her because having a kid like L was a living hell…probably.

"I'm sorry!" Leila burst out suddenly, she began to cry, her hands covering her face. For the first time, L felt an emotion he had never felt before, not even for Watari who had cared for him for as long as he could remember. He reached out to her and wrapped his arms around her. L could still feel Light looking at him but he did not care, he was dead after all. Leila was still crying softly on his shoulder, repeating over and over again how sorry she was. L wasn't sure why she was sorry but said nothing; holding the woman who claimed to be his mother. Finally, she pulled away from him and smiled. L peered at her, trying to find resemblances between the two of them. He found a few but nothing that stood out.

"L… I didn't mean to leave you, I loved you and wanted you to have a great life. I hope you knew that," Leila said cupping her hand around L's face like a mother consoling a child. L stared at her, wondering if he had really ever known that or even thought about it. "I wanted to be reborn with you, so that I could make it up to you in the next life. Now we're going to able to."

L hadn't said anything up until this moment but he finally asked again. His question was still addressed to Light though. "How can I be reborn? I shouldn't be able to, I made that deal…" his voice drifted off and confusion once again lined his face. Light knelt down to face L. L stared back, waiting expectantly for an answer. Suddenly Light found himself wondering what he was going to say. Everything he had done so far seemed impulsive and rash. But he had to give L an answer soon because he didn't know how much time he had before everything was going to be set in motion.

"I decided to renege on you deal because I didn't want to be your debt. I know you hate me and don't believe in anything I did even though it was helping humanity," Light held up a hand before L could object, "I don't want to hear you reasoning against Kira. We both have our own idea of what justice is and right now isn't the time to argue them. The fact is I don't think you deserve to be in Mu, you never did anything wrong, realistically and I will be responsible for my own actions."

Light looked at L wondering if he believed his reason. L seemed to buy it because both of them were the same and hated to owe or rely on anybody. He then stood up offering a hand to L and then to Leila. Light turned to Neko and asked, "So what now? Do we get reborn now or is there some waiting list." The last part came out a little sarcastic and Neko merely smiled.

"Well, now is a good time as any so shall we leave?"

They walked out of the room to the one on the opposite side of the tower. "This is the room of rebirth. Before we enter I should tell you that L's memories will be suppressed but since he's not supposed to be reborn anyways some of the memories of this and his past life may resurface. That means Light, that you have to be careful if you ever encounter L. Reborn souls are not supposed to remember the past because it hinders their development, just like it will affect yours." Light wasn't surprised to hear any of this though because he had assumed something like this would happen. It was rather depressing though, to hear that he couldn't come in contact with L because this was for him in a way. Neko continued, "to help you avoid coming in contact with those you shouldn't, you will be given the ability to recognize souls you have seen before."

L suddenly spoke up, "that's hardly fair to Light-kun. What if he can't help it that he'll see me? What if reborn as brothers?"

Neko pondered this for a moment and shrugged. "Not my problem," he said, "I'm only going to be a counter for Light-kun, so it's all up to you and him. All right enough chit-chat, time to go."

Neko looked at Leila for a moment though and said, "You know you can't be reborn with him now. You have to wait until the council approves because you're a Guardian." Light saw Leila's face fall, clearly she hadn't known about that. L also looked a little disappointed but he was hiding it pretty well. '_Emotionless bastard'_ Light thought, '_it's his mother for god's sake, he doesn't have to hid anything from her.' _Leila seemed to understand L though and smiled at him. "Maybe next time then," she said sadly. Her eyes then locked onto Light's and he knew she was telling him to succeed because if he didn't there would be no next time.

Neko beckoned to Light and L. and told them once they were ready to simply step through the door. Once through the door Light knew there was no turning back, not like he could now anyways. He saw L looked a little apprehensive and unsure about the entire thing so he decided to say something. "Hey L, it was great knowing you before. I'm not sorry about anything else but I'm sorry I killed you." Light knew L would disapprove of the fact he wasn't sorry for everything but he hoped he had balanced it out by saying he was sorry about killing L. It seemed it had paid off because L said nothing snide or cold but rather looked at Light with a sad smile.

"I was happy to have known you Light-kun and I don't regret anything either." L then stepped through the door and was gone. Light took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I hope I'll see you again L," he whispered. Then he felt nothing.

In a hospital in central Tokyo a brown-haired baby was born to smiling parents. He looked around him and the parents could tell their son was going to very intelligent.

In another hospital in Winchester another child was born. This child however was taken to an orphanage immediately, his doe-black eyes never getting a chance to see the woman who gave birth to him.

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i wondered if the end was too obvious but i think it was kinda okay soooo.. just read and review or something

XOXOXOXOXO 


	4. the first 20 years

OMG so srry for having this chapter uploaded like a billion times.

not my fault the doc i wanted to upload was the wrong one and i made the same mistake over and over again!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so stupid sometimes

oh well

sorry for the long wait but here's the next chapter!!!!! so enjoy!!!!!

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**Four Years later: Winchester orphanage**

A child stared up at his two new guardians. One of his guardians was a petite blonde man who had a hardened face although he looked a lot like a girl to the child, and the other looked more masculine, he had dark brown hair and eyes hidden behind a sunglass. He also looked like he didn't really care about anything and kept looking aimlessly around. However, to a more trained eye, the other man was checking out his surroundings and making sure everything was good. These two men worked for the new elite crime fighting organization called _Arcanum Patronus_. The organization had arisen to help counter the vigilante crime fighting that had become associated with the world after Kira had been caught and killed. The organization was also there to hunt down anyone who seemed to be remotely like Kira because sometimes good intentions turned bad. The world could not handle another fully-fledged Kira, not in these times of fear. The organization dealt with real criminals too, but they left that to their sibling organization; the SPK.

The two men at the orphanage were charged with the task of obtaining new recruits that showed promise and the four-year old boy before them was one of the new recruits that they had been requested to bring. He was the youngest one by far, to be recruited, about twenty years younger. Although the two men were not even twenty either, so they weren't complaining. The two men still couldn't understand why the organization suddenly decided that this child was so important. There had been no files, no information, only a silent order from the top telling them to go to Winchester and bring the child back to America with them.

The blonde man suddenly crouched down so that he was level with the child. He did not say anything he only scrutinized the child. As four-year olds went, this one was small. The child's face was what got to the man though. There was ethereal quality to it, like a fallen angel. His soft black hair framed a narrowed face which was strange for a child. Didn't they usually have round faces, he thought. The boy's eyes which were a piercing blue were full of intelligence and showed an abundant amount of kindness even if it was hidden. The man could see that the child was different from any other he had ever encountered. Finally, he decided to speak to the child, "what's your name?"

The child seemed reluctant to respond, as if he wanted to keep a secret. '_Good quality to have,_' the man thought abstractly. Only after the child had turned to look at one of the orphanage's attendants who nodded encouragingly did he speak, "My name is Aiji." The boy spoke with clarity and force. The man was a little startled by that and the name. '_So he's half Asian. The name is Japanese.'_ The man bent down again and this time he smiled and his features completely changed, even the child was startled. "My name's Michael and this is my friend Marcos. You are going to be coming with us now and you are going to get a different name. Is that okay?"

The little boy suddenly smile, "Yes, that's fine. But are you going to my friends then?" The man paused, but then he gave another smile and nodded. It surprised him to see the kid smile but he was sure that where this child was going he would need all the friends he could get and he should smile as much as possible now. He held out his hand to the child and they went to the waiting car. The child never turned back to look at what he was leaving behind.

In Tokyo another child was staring moodily out the window. He was bored and had finished all the homework his stupid preschool class had given him. Right now, he was planning. Thus far his successes had been minimal and he knew the chances of saving eighteen people in his current state was not going to work, especially since his new mother was rather…he wasn't quite sure how to put it, but…

"Yuuta-chan!!!!" a woman squealed, rushing through his bedroom door, "one of the other mothers set up a play date for this afternoon! Do you want to come?"

The child stared balefully out the window, wondering why the woman even bothered asking if she was going to just take him anyway. So he composed his face into what he hoped was an innocent childlike one. He knew that sometimes he frightened his parents but he had trouble sometimes masking who he really was. He never felt comfortable around the people he was supposed to call parents but he was training himself now. So when the woman smiled back enigmatically at him, he knew he had once again succeeded. He moved from his place by the window to his mother. She picked him up and gave him a hug. "So I take it you want to go then?"

Yuuta gave a small nod. He wanted to go mainly because outings were the only chance he had of fulfilling his deal. His mother carried him out the front door before setting him down to lock it. Yuuta looked up to see an angelic face smiling at him.

"Hey Neko," he muttered. The Guardian looked down at him, "Hello Light-kun or should I say Yuuta-kun." Light had become aware of Neko from the moment he came home from the hospital the day he was born and although Light hated to admit it, if it was not for Neko he probably would have gone crazy.

"So Light-kun, your tally hasn't gone very far, only up to 3 and those ones were rather abstract."

Light knew what he was talking about but refused to dignify it with an answer. The three lives that he had indirectly saved were of his cousins when he was three. He hadn't wanted to go on the boat ride while on vacation with said cousins so he had decided to do what children do best and throw a tantrum. The fact that the boat had sunk apparently counted as a save to Neko. Light was happy about that but found the tantrum part that Neko kept bringing up very distasteful. His mother turned back to him and took his hand and they began to walk to the neighbors where the gathering was.

About three houses down Light could already here other children laughing and chattering away outside. He knew he was up for another boring, witless party. Nevertheless, this would give him ample time to talk to Neko and get some answers away from his mother. So as soon as she deposited him with some of the other children Light decided to wander off. He could sense Neko wafting behind similar to what Ryuk used to do. Finally, he found a secluded area outside the house to talk. He looked up to Neko, his eyes hidden by wispy black hair. When he had first seen himself in a mirror, his hair color had thrown him off.

After the party Light was feeling tired and his mother was now carrying him. She was singing a little short children's song to him. Her voice was soothing and Light found himself drifting off to sleep despite himself. Before he could fully drift off though, a man's shout cut through his hazy thoughts. He felt his mother stop walking and her body stiffened. Light tired to lift his head off his mother's shoulder but was shoved back down. He wanted to voice his outrage but his mother's quiet voice stopped him. "Yuuta," she whispered, "don't make any sudden moves."

Light wriggled in her grasp so that he could see what was going on. He stiffened instinctively because in front of his mother and him was a man with a knife pointed at them. He grinned at pointed at the purse of Light's mother. She nodded slightly and set him down and began to hand her purse over. Suddenly the man reached over and grabbed his mother.

"Hey, you're pretty hot for a mother," he said leeringly, "what say you and I go have a nice time and ditch the kid?"

Light felt his blood boil. How dare that man make such an insinuation toward his mother? Instinct immediately took over from his previous life and Light leapt toward the man.

"Yuuta!!" Light heard his mother cry.

Light realized his mistake a little too late. He was a adult trapped in a child's body after all and the man had a knife. He saw the knife descend but was to slow to move. But the knife never struck him. he heard a thud and his mother's whisper, "Run Yuuta and remember I love you."

Light stared in horror at the blade imbedded in his mother's shoulder. He looked up at the man who was grinning rather sadistically. "Well this has gotten out of hand, better finish it," the thief said. As he reached down to grab the knife Light screamed. He screamed for help and kept screaming even as the man lunged forward at him. He managed to dodge the first attempt but the man was able to grab him at the second lunge. Light felt a little panicked but kept shouting for help. The man told him to shut up and struck him across the face. Light could feel the blood well in his mouth but ignored it. he was not going to die now.

Suddenly there was a shout and the man swiveled around. There was a cop and he had his gun aimed at the man. It seemed one of the neighbors had heard and called the cops. Two more were stepping out of their cars a few feet away. The man tightened his hold on Light but Light aimed a well place kick between the man's legs and he was dropped.

Awhile later Light had been bundled into the ambulance with his mom and had watched the police tackle the man and put handcuffs on him. It all felt rather surreal and dreamlike. Neko drifted along and whispered to Light, "one down, seventeen left to go." Light nodded mutely and watched the cops take away the thief and suddenly Light knew what he had to do to achieve his goal. It was so simple he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. It had been what he wanted to be in his past life before the Death note came into his possession. The greatest way to save lives, he had been one before and he could be one again. His hand which was gripping his mother tightened. He would make sure to protect others from these types of events. These thoughts led him back to L and his sense of justice.

**Sixteen Years later, Seattle, WA**

A young man stood waiting outside coffee shop. He stared blankly at the buildings in front of him, his mind far away. Recent events had caused him to be called to Godforsaken dump of a state where the rain never ceased to fall. He decided to go into the coffee shop to wait, instead of getting a shower outside. He went in and sat down at a table. A moment later a waitress came by to take his order. He carefully picked up the menu in a delicate manner. The waitress he knew, was giving a once over and a couple more. He finally looked up at her, gave one of his most alluring smiles, and said huskily, "what would you recommend darling?"

At a glance he saw the woman swoon slightly before leaning in and telling him that a white chocolate latte would be to his taste. He nodded in agreement. She left but not before giving him a seductive glance. He let out a sigh when she had gone. He had gotten used to the looks women started giving him as he gotten older but it didn't cease to annoy him occasionally. In his line of work sometimes it was important to be able to charm your way out a situation but in all honesty he could care less. He had survived this long without relying on his looks and just because he finally hit puberty or something didn't mean he was going to start. In the middle of his musings, he had not noticed a man come into the café and step behind him. A hand was placed on his shoulder and in a flash he had a gun pointed at the man's chest. The man looked amused. "Good job, AJ," he said sliding into a chair in front of the boy. The gun was immediately pulled back and no one knew the difference.

"You did well on the last couple solo missions. The heads are very proud."

"Che, if they're so proud they should let me in on the bigger things, _Michael_. Anyways, where's your sidekick Marcos?"

Michael smiled once again as he looked at the boy. He knew that before him was sixteen years worth of hard work and perfection. The kid never stopped and always kept going. The world needed people like him but Michael knew the kid was pushing it. Arcanum had never had someone as good as him. SPK had someone close but even he no longer could match the boy. The only person Michael knew of in the crime fighting arena who was better than the kid was the elusive L. That had been over twenty years ago though and AJ was the new detective wonder. But looking at the kid Michael couldn't help but wonder if this was good for him. His obsession with justice was borderline unhealthy and could almost be tipped to the other side with the category vigilante. The obsession had peaked after an arsonist had set fire to AJ's orphanage while he was visiting.

His thoughts were interrupted though when the waitress came with AJ's latte. Michael gave a snort; the kid always had a thing for sweets. It was cute but probably the cause of his stunted growth. AJ looked up from sipping the latte and frowned.

"So what is so important that you had to drag me from a nice cozy hut in the middle of the Sahara to this lovely city?" AJ asked sarcastically. Michael watched him for a moment, assessing him before replying, "I assume you have been paying attention to the news and to what information has been presented these last couple weeks I presume."

"What do you take me for? Of course I know what's been going on, hell I could tell the Prime minister of England's view on cupcakes if you wanted," AJ said coldly.

Michael couldn't help but balk at the tone of voice._ 'When had the kid become so serious and frigid?' _Michael thought, '_did we send him out to early? Is this what a dozen years of isolation does to a person?' _Michael could still remember when AJ had first been Aiji. That child had been brilliant, yes, but he still had human emotions, emotions that were positive. Over the years he began to notice the changes, Marcos had noticed them more but both had ignored it. Michael suddenly wondered if it was resentment but he banished that thought because AJ was truly focused on justice and saving lives so that was not it. Once again, though an impatient AJ interrupted his thoughts. The boy was now officially flat out glaring at him.

"Recent developments in Asia, particularly Japan have begun to worry the SPK, which in turn means us." Michael pulled out a manila folder, which he slid across the table to AJ. "This will be your new case, nothing will be allowed to distract you. You will bring down the people have begun to call the _New Kira_ or code name K"

The hand which had been about to reach out and grab the manila folder froze, and then reached forward to grab the folder.

"How do you know that this is a new Kira and not some fanatic who is using some sort of drug?"

"We've confirmed it on multiple sources and there is no hidden weapon of mass murder present so we can only say that whatever is killing these people is the same weapon that Kira used. K gives the person a heart attack and for four of the victims each of them wrote this before they died."

AJ stared at the jumbled letters that the men had written before death. "D-G-O-S, E-F-I-R, D-S-S-C-E-N-E-D, J-D-A-M."

AJ looked thoughtful for a moment. He seemed lost in thought then he opened the file and began to read through it. Michael sat patiently waiting for him to finish, while he waited he ordered a chocolate cappuccino, which he sipped slowly. AJ's face remained impassive the entire time he read the file. Michael couldn't tell what he was thinking at all, but he knew connections were being made faster than light in that brain.

_'So the New Kira was in Japan again'_, AJ thought, '_Great just what I need, another whack job knocking people because of some twisted sense of justice.'_ This Kira had killed over 40 criminals within the last week and possibly countless others within the last month. This clearly wasn't a joke and it would have been impossible to find any other connection because the criminals were from all around the world. So the heart attacks were the only connection. AJ stared at the statistics trying to come up with something. He suddenly sat up straight, was it his imagination or were none of the criminals from Japan. He looked sharply up at Michael. He knew already, so clearly there was more than just this information in stock.

"What else am I missing?" he asked.

"Whoever this person is, they are possibly working for that cult started by Misa Amane."

AJ frowned, that particular cult was one he had never had to deal with particularly since they kept mainly to themselves. "How do you know that they might be working for the cult? After all Amane has managed to keep the cult's name unsullied by making sure anyone who acts in the name of Kira isn't related to the cult."

"The possibility is high because yesterday K killed two anchormen who made disparaging comments about Misa's cult and a politician in England who denounced the cult publically a week ago. K has also killed the head of the Tokyo police, who threatened Miss. Amane's cult. So you, me and a team chosen by N will go to Japan to work on this case."

AJ nodded, this was going to be his star case, he could tell.

The next day the team was aboard a jet heading to Japan. Along with Michael, there were five other operatives. All were A-class detectives except for one but AJ wasn't too worried about it. He was working on another case, so he didn't really have time to wonder about his team. Michael would direct them anyways. He clicking through current events on his lab top when he suddenly noticed something. There were sixteen new deaths already but that wasn't all, the beginning of all their names spelled out something.

Justice is corrupt.

AJ stared blankly for a moment at the words he found. Impossible, he thought, he tried to see if there was another way of scrambling the words but none of the others worked. He brought up a map of the places and prisons that the men were killed. For a second he thought he was going crazy but he wasn't the locations of the deaths were all in a straight line pointed to the headquarters of the Tokyo police. The computer blinked suddenly, another death had happened and this one was right at the doorsteps of the Tokyo police. A ring startled AJ, he saw Michael pick up his cell phone and answered. After a moment his face darkened and he nodded.

He turned to face the rest of the team, "the last victim wasn't a criminal at all, he was an officer of the Tokyo police."

"I think K is targeting the Tokyo police." AJ showed them what he had found out.

"So is he going to kill all of the cops or something?" a team member asked.

"No," relied AJ with growing horror, "look at this." He pointed to the writing that three of the victims had written before death. "If you unscramble all the words it says 'God's fire descends' and I assume you all know what a JDAM is." The team passed horrified looks.

"Kira's going to bomb the Tokyo police headquarters?"

AJ gave and confirmatory nod. "Call the new head of Tokyo police now."

Tokyo, Japan: Police headquarters

The mood was subdued and quiet in the building. Fear permeated the premise, no one was sure what to do and one person was feeling the strain of keeping everyone calm. The phones had been ringing off the hook, some callers denounced Kira while others called to say that the chief had gotten what he deserved. The new head of police stared down at the files that were related to the New Kira case trying to connect the dots when his phone rang. He sighed and picked up the phone.

"Hello, chief Hiyashi Yuuta speaking."

A distorted voice on the other end spoke, "Hello chief Hiyashi. This is code name A, we are the aid that the SPK/Arcanum has sent over to help you in the New Kira case. We have discovered a plot to bomb the police headquarters in Tokyo. Please check your e-mail and you will see our reasoning. Please evacuate as many people as you can. We hope that you are familiar with the previous Kira case so please act accordingly. Good-bye." The line went dead before Yuuta could respond.

'Damn,' he thought, 'another thing to add to my plate.' He quickly opened his e-mail and read through the facts. It all made sense and after what had happened this morning he wasn't going to take any chances. He quickly called his secretary and a few others to his office. He explained to them quickly and quietly what he had just been told. There were a few horrified gasps all around but soon everyone got to work. Before they left however Yuuta called out, "make sure everyone wears some sort of mask, we don't know if there is only one bomb there could be other ones, such as a gas one."

That wasn't the entire truth but he wasn't going to elaborate. "So, Light, you think this Kira has the eyes don't you?" Neko's voice called out to him. Light looked up, "My name isn't Light anymore, get used to it and yes I think this Kira may have the eyes." Light got up and went out the door, he could hear the commotion beginning but didn't care, he was looking for the bomb squad stationed on the upper floors. Hopefully someone had already contacted them. He found them in their office doing scans of the building, trying to see where the bomb or bombs could be located.

"Sir, we can't find any type of explosive in the building. Are you sure that there is one?"

Light gave an affirmative nod, he wasn't exactly sure why he trusted the intelligence he received, but he did.

"Make sure you guys all get out of the building. I'd rather be safe than sorry," Light called over his shoulder. He began making rounds of the office, telling people to exit out the back and quickly and quietly. The explanation he gave was that there could be possible snipers but the real reason was that once the people got out they'd take off their masks and they'd be possible sitting ducks.

Although Light was keeping a calm exterior, inside he was seething with rage. This new Kira wasn't like him at all. They didn't deserve to be called Kira. The person was just a homicidal nutcase. Suddenly Neko appeared out of nowhere, Light had wondered where he had been. "There are bombs on the building Li-Yuuta-kun. They're located on walls outside the building and they're all on timers set for noon."

Light looked down at his watch and cursed. Ten minutes until noon. He'd have to risk the lives of a few to save a majority. He went over and pulled the fire alarm. That should help evacuate people faster, he thought. Time was running out but he had to make sure everyone was out of the upper floors. "This had better count toward my toll," he muttered frustrated, to Neko. He checked his watch again there was five minutes left. 'Shit' he thought. Light went outside where he could see everyone still waiting. He quickly confirmed that everyone was out and explained where the bomb was to the head of the bomb squad. He could tell that the man wanted to ask how he knew. Light checked his watch again; one minute.

"Everyone back up and get behind something!" he shouted. There was a mad scramble to move out of harm's way. In the corner of his eye Light saw a two black cars pull up on the opposite side of the street. But his focus was one of the bombs went off. It was a little early but soon the rest of them were going off. There was another mad rush to get further away from the explosion. Light stared impassively at the scene the wind whipping his hair back furiously. 'Whoever you are, I'll get you for this,' he thought coldly before turning around to give commands. A man suddenly appeared before him.

"Hiyashi Yuuta?" the man asked. Light nodded, the man was now staring at the panic that had ensued after the explosion. "We are the team that will be aiding you in stopping the New Kira."

"We?" Light asked then he saw five other men step out of the cars, he could also tell there was a sixth one but he was blocked by the others. The man nodded, "this is my team. I believe my operative here informed you of all the details."

Light nodded, over the past two weeks he had been regularly receiving e-mails and calls from the operative.

"Arcanum sends the best," the man said he then pointed to the last man that had been hidden. Light choked.

"This is agent AJ."

"Hello Hiyashi-san," the young man said.

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using Light instead of Yuuta when no one is talking to him makes it easier for me to write, so I hope none of you got confused when I switched it around

also L is now officially oc and totally my creation (still not mine legally of course)

thanks for all the reviews!!!!!!!!!!!! hope this chapter was good. i sure liked writing it

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thank you to my reviewers!!!!!!!! they really make me happy

hope you guys liked this chapter


	5. the case

okay this chapter was so f-ing difficult to write, mostly because i had so much crap to do at school... so if this chapter isn't as up to par or what you were expecting, I'm REALLY REALLY SORRY!!!! but i think its pretty decent.

oh incase you were confused scroll to the bottom of the pg for quick facts/recap

by the way thanks for all the reviews!!! they were all very nice!!!!! you all are great!!!!

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Light sat down heavily in a chair at his apartment. Today had been quite disastrous as he reflected. He wasn't as upset about the police headquarters blowing up as he should have been, he was more concerned with seeing L. Their meeting had been pure stress for him and he couldn't understand why. 

_Flashback _

_"Hello Hiyashi-san," the young man said. He held out a pale white hand and Light stared at it for a moment before realizing he needed to shake it. Light took a moment to assess L's reincarnate. The new L looked nothing like the previous one that was for sure. This one could have passed off as a model for some high end fashion designer or with the right clothes a vampire for a movie. However, the eyes were the same, there was the dark calculating manner, which L had used to assess everything, and there was the vibrant intelligence that had also characterized the previous L. The one thing that struck Light as a similarity was how expressionless the young man was. Like his last incarnation the young man showed nothing, but he still seemed more open than his previous counterpart. _

_The meeting had been brief since there was a burning building in the background. Michael had told Light they would contact him via e-mail and phone once the mess had been cleared up. _

_Suddenly AJ had spoken, "do not tell the press anything about Kira until we have conversed." Then that was it and the men had left as quickly as they came. _

Light had handled the remaining situation as best he could. He evaded the most intrusive questions from the media. He then went to collect his own team members that had been informed of the situation beforehand. They had been all hand chosen by him to make sure there were no Matsudas involved with the case. When he had finally been able to go home, it was about 10:00 pm. When he arrived he had found a package waiting at his doorsteps. Inside he found that there was a new lab top and six fake ids. The first words he saw when he opened the lab top were "know the Kira case like the back of your hand, AJ" Light knew they meant both of the cases. Light didn't bother with either since he was the Kira of the old case and he already knew about the new so-called Kira. He chose bed over work. The only thing good that had come out of this day was that each person at headquarters had counted as a save so now Light's tally was up to four thousand five hundred.

The next morning was not pleasant. At about five in the morning, Light received a call from the three phone calls. One was from his overly concerned mother, one from the Tokyo city officials, and the last was from AJ. The first two were brief and slightly annoying but the last made Light want to go and smash many windows. The city officials simply informed him of the new building that the police would be borrowing and that Light had better have an investigation underway (which he did duh!). AJ's voice, although far from monotone like L's still had the same arrogant and superfluous tone. He had proceeded to inform Light of the case's development. Apparently, they had managed to figure out where K was located. Last night after the explosion, the team had set it up so that only certain criminals were displayed in the media in certain areas. This was a play on L's previous idea to catch Light. It was however, effective because the New Kira didn't realize he was getting played and had killed four men from the news. The broadcast of those criminals had only been in the Kinki region of Japan. So AJ told him that the team would be headed there and Light should come with his team as soon as possible.

As if, Light didn't already have enough to do with the explosion and answering damn near impossible questions about it that he couldn't answer. Now he'd have to explain why he was going to Kinki and explain to his team also. So as he got ready to go to the temporary police complex he cursed the fact that Shinagamis enjoyed messing with people. Behind him, Neko grinned.

The rest of Light's morning was spent debriefing with city leaders and a slew of officials who wanted to know whether Light was going to catch whoever caused the explosion. He had also managed to contact the other members of his team who were then sent to Kinki before him. He would have a problem getting to Kinki especially since he was after all head of the Tokyo police. But when he needed to be, Light could be very persuasive and my nightfall he was on a plane heading to Kinki to help with the investigation. His second in command had taken over for the time being and promised to keep him updated. At the Kinki airport Light received a call that told him he had a ride waiting. He went outside to the indicated area and saw a Porsche waiting for him. _'Well they know how to travel in style,' _he thought. He wondered who was driving when AJ stepped out. The boy gave him a grin, "like the car?" he asked.

"It's nice enough," Light, answered. The boy laughed and popped the trunk. Inside the car AJ began to talk about the case. Light was only half paying attention because he already knew what AJ was talking about. He found himself more interested in looking at AJ. He knew it was rather inappropriate but he really couldn't help it.

"So, what do you think?"

Light stared blankly at AJ for a moment. 'Shit' he thought. AJ raised an eyebrow and asked, "I thought you were the best and brightest in all Japan?" AJ's condescending tone didn't go unnoticed by Light but he ignored it. "I asked whether you agreed that we should go undercover to spy on the university."

Now Light was officially confused and tried to work around his confusion. He gave an ambiguous answer and asked a few roundabout questions but AJ saw right through his tactics. "I was saying before that K could possibly be someone from Kinki University. Whoever it is, isn't very bright and killed a rapist in the vicinity. The rapist had made another attempt on one of the college girls and had been found dead in the morning. On the wall in his apartment there was a message from K. It said "Justice can't be stopped" and "Utopia will prevail". The fact that the media hasn't been allowed to broadcast criminals anymore in Japan for the time being helped us to narrow down location of the killer. It is possibly a student at Kinki too because "

"So who do you plan on sending into the university?" Light questioned.

"I of course," AJ said surprise ebbing into his tone, "unless you have younger looking people on your team, none of the ones I have seen will pass for a university student."

Light stared in shock. Hadn't L always been extremely cautious about who saw him and whether or not his identity was kept a secret? What had changed? Why was he willing to expose himself? These thoughts invaded Light's mind until he remembered that this _was not_ L and L had come out at one time, he had shown himself to Light. That was why he had been killed. Some part of his thoughts and emotions must have shown on Light's face because AJ looked at him for a moment, curiously, and began speaking again. "Your team will be mainly investigating any relations K has with the Kira cult/vigilante group founded by Misa Amane. We believe a few of her followers attend Kinki University and have made contact with K, so I will be trying to figure that out." Light nodded and for awhile they discussed other possible ways to bring down K and the cult. Light found himself reluctant to offer to much on the Kira cult because it was after all in honor of him. AJ must have sensed his hesitation because after a brief lull in their conversation he spoke again.

"Do you believe what K is doing is right?"

Light's breathing stopped. He turned to look at AJ who did not look at him but stared out onto the road. The hands gripping the steering wheel tightened. Light knew if he lied AJ would be able to tell, his eyes were the same as L's and could see straight through to Light's soul. Light had to choose his words carefully.

"I believe that K has a goal that I agree with," Light began, "but the way he or she is going about it is wrong." Light paused and then continued, he had no idea where his thoughts came from but he continued talking, "K is only getting one side of the story. He only sees what the media wants him to see. Not every crime is born of evilness, some crimes are similar to what he is doing. He's cheating, he's only playing God. He's not all knowing! There's no such thing as utopia! It's a childish hope and all he's doing is creating fear and mistrust. He's nothing more than a spoiled, foolish brat!" Suddenly Light clapped a hand over his mouth. He had called K a brat and didn't know why. But when he turned toward AJ who looked at him in slight awe, he remembered. Those thoughts he had had were not his they had been L's. L had said those things to him when he had been trying to catch Kira. Light felt his heart racing as he realized how true those words were, he had been nothing but a childish brat who was playing god. He had taken so many lives out of ignorance. He raised a hand to his chest and AJ's voice suddenly cut through, full of concern, "Hiyashi- san! Are you all right?" Light nodded. "Well, then we're here, this is the K case headquarters.

Light stepped out of the car and stared at the building in front of them and he was struck with the fact that it looked so similar to the building they had used for the old Kira case. They walked to the entrance where AJ slid a card into the scanner and the door opened. Inside a woman sat at the desk typing on her computer. "Hello AJ, the team is upstairs."

As they headed toward the elevator Light felt like he had to ask, "I thought you didn't want anyone to know your identity? Yet she knows what this case is about."

"Well this is the Arcanum headquarters of Japan so its normal she'd know all of us and my identity is kept secret enough. I have enough alias to start my own country. Besides," AJ added softly, "sometimes I just want to be normal." Light stared after him as he entered the elevator. They arrived at the top floor and AJ stepped toward another door and slid his card in. When the door opened voices greeted them. Light could see his team mingled with AJ's. Light was introduced to the rest of AJ's team and a another man who Light was told had be the go-between guy. His name was Marcos.

He told AJ that he would be starting classes at Kinki University tomorrow. Then Michael asked Light whether or not he would go also. "We believe that it would be easier and more efficient to find K if we sent more people but only the two of you actually look the proper age so…" Light readily agreed and the rest of the day was a blur as AJ and Light prepared to go undercover at the university. He had forgotten how precise and cautious L was and AJ was the same. The one thing that was strange was that Michael was in charge. Light had always been used to L giving orders so it was odd to see AJ being the one taking orders.

That night after everyone had retired except for AJ who was getting a snack, Neko spoke to Light. "Light-kun," he whispered, "you need to end this case soon."

"Why?" Light asked.

"Because if you don't , your prolonged attachment to L will begin to have a negative mental affect on him. Generally it wouldn't be a problem but you remember your past so he might to which would be bad for him."

Light nodded, he and L hadn't been best friends but still, L had given Light another chance and this might be L's only chance at rebirth if Light failed. Light went to bed, his resolve to succeed hardening. Tomorrow would be the beginning of the end for the New Kira and Light would see to it that the end came quickly.

* * *

OMG the next chapter is gonna be so fun to write! they're going to college lol

anyways quick facts:

1.both AJ (L) and Yuuta(Light) are 20yo

2. Light has to save 5000 ppl directly/indirectly and 18 others (Ch 2 or 3.) to get him and L out of Mu

3. Light's head of Tokyo police but is now working with AJ who is like L

ummmmm...i think that's the general idea so any other questions? if i made any mistakes i'm sorry but my memories shot so it happens lol


	6. Discovery

its been awhile hasn't it... Well i'm reallllllyyyyyyyyyyy reallllllyyy sorry!! AP tests and finals are not fun and i've been uber busy

so i thank you for continuing to read this fanfic and plz don't hate me!!

the saga continues...

* * *

In the morning, Light woke up to a knock at his door. "Hiyashi-san?" came the voice of one his subordinates, "AJ-san is waiting for you." Light opened his eyes and blinked groggily at the alarm clock on the desk at his bedside. 'Well, at least one thing remains the same,' he thought, 'AJ is as much an insomniac as L ever was.' He went to the work area and saw very frustrated looking Michael barking orders. He was talking about clothing and yelling to someone. As Light reached the bottom of the stairs a very disgruntle looking AJ stormed out of the bathroom and ran into Light causing them both to tumble to the ground. Light looked up at AJ who now sat squarely on hips, straddling him. Light blushed and shoved AJ off.

AJ didn't seem to notice Light's blush and instead turned his attention to Michael again. "I am not wearing this crap!" he shouted, "I look stupid."

"No, you look normal. You can't go into a college wearing business attire or formal wear. It's strange and NOT normal."

Then to Light's utter surprise AJ pouted. Light thought AJ looked very cute. He shook his head. Clearly, he needed more sleep, he should not be having these kinds of thoughts about a man, especially one who he had been chained to for months in his past life. AJ seemed to having difficulty adjusting to the new clothing they were forcing him to wear. He was wearing a black t-shirt and formfitting jeans. He was having the most problems with the jeans it appeared. He kept tugging at them. But with a glare from Michael he remained silent. Neko, who had just shown up, found the situation rather hilarious. Light was strongly reminded of Ryuk when Neko began laughing.

Light was wearing slacks and a brown shirt, he was casual in a classy manner, something L was having difficulty with. Light had found it disconcerting at first when he had seen L dressed in suits and ties but now seeing him such snug clothing made it all the more difficult. When you've only seen a guy wear clothes that left everything to the imagination it is hard to have said imagination taken away. Not that Light was complaining. AJ caught Light's gaze and frowned. After that the rest of the morning went by swiftly, with everyone preparing Light and AJ for Kinki U.

In the pseudo taxicab, while driving to Kinki University, AJ had opened his lab top and found out within the night more killings had happened, which added to the team's stress level. K was becoming more confident with the recent killings. Light hoped that this Kira didn't have the Shinagami eyes because that would put him and AJ in more danger. They arrived at the university and saw dozens of signs posted everywhere about the glorious return of Kira.

"Hiyashi-san, here is the schedule. You know how to act right?" AJ asked.

Light looked up curiously, what the hell did he mean?

"Remember, you do not know me and I do not know you. I am an exchange student and you are a transfer one. The only time we will be in contact is in our dorms. We're roommates."

After that, they got out of the car and headed toward the help center. Light was feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that he and AJ were roommates. He wasn't concerned about himself but rather AJ. Neko had been adamant about him not being too close to L's reincarnate and Light had no interest in L remembering his past. It would be far too complicated.

Right now, the university was quiet partly due to the recent killings and because the students were taking a holiday break (1). The school was silent and only a slight breeze caused slight movements in the courtyard. Light and AJ took separate routes once they reached the interior of the school. As a transfer student, Light was not required to go to visit the help center. In his hands was all the information he needed about the school's schedule and his. To get the maximum scope of the student body, both he and AJ had completely different schedules. But some of the classes were the same because of AJ's reasoning.

The night before the group had sat down to "profile" K. In reality it was mostly AJ telling them what the killer was like. Light wasn't surprised at AJ's level of thinking but he could see that the others on his team were more than stunned.

"This Kira or K as we call him or her is very similar to the first one that existed about twenty plus years ago. They would have a very strong sense of justice even though it is corrupt. This Kira may also have been have been wronged at some point and is now out for revenge because they stated , 'Justice is corrupt.' Another thing about the character of the person is that they may not be confident or careful. Someone is telling them whom to kill because varieties of people have been killed so far after the first one, who was a college student. The person will have taken classes geared toward criminal justice or leadership."

The way AJ had classified and analyzed the criminal reminded Light of when the same thing had been done to him a lifetime ago. But now they were both on the same side so Light had nothing to worry about. His phone gave off a slight beep that indicated he had a text message. It was from AJ and it read 'tonight we're going to room 905 at the girls' dorms.' 905? Girls' dorm? What the hell? Light thought. Then he remembered, 905 was where the first murdered victim had been found. He had been found in the room of the girl he raped. Light wondered how sick this Kira could be, to kill the guy in the girl's room. That was not normal.

Light went to the men's dorm where he and AJ would be staying. The hallways were deathly silent, not a single soul walked them. It seemed with the recent events no one bothered to stay at school for the holidays. Neko drifted in and out of walls, looking completely bored. Light would have felt sorry for him if he wasn't such a jerk most of the time. After depositing all his stuff into one closet, Light laid down on the bed in the room. Dorm rooms are rather cramped, he thought. Light had never spent time in a dorm because he'd been too young(1) so his mother had made him stay with a family friend who lived close to the university. He'd heard stories about the crazy things that college students did at the dorms and Light never felt like he was missing out on anything.

Light was wondering how he was going to get along staying with AJ when the door opened and a very hassled looking AJ stepped into the room. "Just because I'm foreign doesn't mean I don't speak the shitty language," he muttered, stuffing his bags into the closet. "Classes begin on Monday, which is only three days from now. So we need to find out as much as we can before all those other students come back."

Light nodded agreeably. AJ pulled out his lab top and quickly turned it on and got to work. Light was still lying on his bed when Neko came floating in looking extremely agitated. "I met the shinagami who owns the Deathnote."

Light shot straight up and gasped. AJ looked up, concern flooding his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Ah, um…" Light floundered a moment, "I, um…I just remembered seeing a poster for the Kira Cult on a door on my way here. I think I'll go check it out."

AJ stared at him. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Light shook his head and left quickly. He walked down to the end of the hallway and made sure no one was around.

"Okay, who's the shinagami and how did you meet it?" Light asked, glaring up at Neko. Neko glared back and retorted, "if you're going to be rude, maybe I won't tell you."

"Sorry," Light apologized, "so who was it?"

"I saw him in that girl's room. The one that you're going to check tonight. He was in there for some reason. He didn't say why."

"So which shinagami was it?"

"His name is Ryuk."

Light froze.

"Do you know him? "

Light's mind was completely blank for a minute and he did not respond to Neko's question. The shinagami who had killed him, taken his life and was the cause of all of Light's current problem was back! Light felt lightheaded as he leaned against the wall. This could not be happening, Ryuk was the one shinagami who knew everything about Light. The only thing good that Light could think of was Ryuk wasn't the interfering type, not like Rem. Light looked up at the ceiling, his mind focusing once again. Nothing had changed and this revelation changed nothing.

"No I had a different shinagami."

That night Light and AJ made their way silently to room 905. The area had been sanctioned off by the police so no one was around. "Do you have a key to get in?" Light asked.

AJ looked at him disdainfully. "We're here as students so why would they give me a key to a police evidence site. No, we're going in through less conventional means." AJ gave a feral grin and pulled out a length of wire and proceeded to pick the lock. The door swung open with an ominous click and AJ stepped in followed by Light who scanned the hall before entering. AJ had already slipped on plastic gloves and begun examining things in the room. Light followed, his eyes grazing over the writing on the wall. It was creepy but he had he not done the same thing when he had been testing his Deathnote.

AJ was looking through the girl's bookshelf when his hand reached up and pulled out a blue leather bound book. It was a diary. Light went up to look closer. It was rather worn and seemed to be well used. There was a lock on the diary but no key. "Are you going to open it?" Light questioned. AJ nodded and began to move around the room again. Light soon concluded that the room held nothing of importance to them and if the killer really was Kira, no evidence would ever be produced from a crime scene.

It didn't take long for AJ to realize it too and both of them quietly left the room. Back in their dorm room Light prepared for bed. AJ was reclining on his bed with his lab top open and his fingers flying rapidly across the board. Light lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling accessing what had happened today. His main concern was that Ryuk was the shinagami helping the new Kira. Ryuk would be able to predict some of his and AJ's moves, so he would have to be more careful now.

The time was very late and Light was growing tired but AJ showed no sign of slowing down. Light knew better than to question it after spending months chained to L. So Light focused on falling asleep and before he knew it he had drifted off to the soft clacking of AJ's typing.

_"Light, you are my first friend," a fading voice called out and disappeared._

_"Wait! Who are you?" Light shouted into the darkness. He could not see anything in the deepening darkness._

_"Traitor! How could you do this to us!? WHY? We were innocent!" out of the darkness voices screamed and cried out to him. Light began to panic and frantically tried to run but there was only never ending darkness._

_"We hate you! You're not a god! DIE!" these voices were full of hate and spite and pierced through Light as though they were solid objects._

_"I'm sorry! I truly am!" Light cried, collapsing to the ground, "please forgive me! I was wrong!"_

_"WE HATE YOU! WE HATE YOU! WE HATE YOU! WE HATE YOU!" the voices grew deafening around Light. Light cowered down in the darkness trying to find a respite from the barrage. Suddenly a soft voice broke through._

_"I love you."_

_"Who are you?" Light whispered. Footsteps echoed in the dark and moved closer and closer to Light. Light could begin to see a faint light coming closer in time with the footsteps. As his eyes adjusted to the incoming light, his eyes widened. A slight, slender figure stood before him bathed in a quiet glow. The figure gently bent down and cupped Light's face. "I forgive you," it spoke softly. Then everything began to fade out._

_"Wait!"_

Light woke with a start to a darkened room. The only glow came from AJ's computer. Light felt extremely tense and he tried to stretch when he suddenly realized something. Standing directly above him was AJ, who was staring intently down at him with a look Light found eerily familiar.

* * *


	7. Scary moments

hehehehehe...well here's another random update...hope you guys like it and srry for the wait

i'd like to thank all the people still reading this crap and hopefully this chapter is okay

...it was fun writing this part though

* * *

"AJ?" Light asked tentatively. Neko suddenly stirred from where he had been in his "resting" trance and moved toward them. Light paid no attention to him. He focused all his attention on the man standing before him. Light slowly got up from his prone position and faced AJ. He reached out to AJ slowly when he was pushed down onto his back and AJ was straddling him.

"AJ," Light choked out, "what the hell are you doing?" Light attempted to say more but AJ's next word caused a cold shiver to trickle down Light's spine.

"_Light-kun_ where are we?" genuine confusion and fear laced those words. 'Light-kun,' those words should have never been spoken by AJ… unless-no- it was impossible.

Light reached up, grabbed AJ's shoulders, and shook him roughly. "L?!" he gasped, "what the hell? Is that you?"

"Light what is going on?" now a panicked note had entered L's (we've made the switch) voice. He looked down at Light. "Where am I? Why do I look-why do you look…" Light felt sorry for L who's confusion and panic was now quite evident. As L made to jump off the bed, Light grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

"L, calm down and let me explain," Light commanded and to his surprise, L complied. "L, what do you remember, first of all?"

"I died."

'Shit,' Light thought, 'if that's all he remembers then things are not going to run smoothly'

"I also remember everything up until I stepped through the portal. You said you made some sort of deal so I wouldn't be trapped forever and I had punched you."

'Thank god, he remembers everything.'

"Okay, here's the thing L, you and I have been reborn, which is why we both look different." Here Light paused, "how did you know who I was anyways?"

"I don't really know. I just sort of sensed it."

"Well, that's good," Light replied awkwardly and slightly surprised that L had been able to tell who he was just as he had been able to tell who L was. However, he now wasn't really sure how to act now that L had come forth. The L he remembered had been older, wiser, usually smarter, yet childish. Light also didn't want L to start accusing him of being Kira again even though he had been. Light looked up again when L gave a slight gasp. He followed L's gaze to see he was looking at Neko.

"You're the…" L fumbled for words, "you're a Guardian. You were with Light when I woke up. There was another shinagaimi too. She reminded me of someone." L's words stopped for a moment as he thought deeply for a moment, his thumb raised to his mouth.

Neko smiled at L to Light's utter surprise. "L you need to go back to sleep," Neko murmured, "this isn't your time to wake yet. You'll understand what will happen soon but for now just rest."

"Wait," L said turning back to look at Light, "I want to know what the deal you made was."

Light stared up into bright blue eyes that were so different from L's previous charcoal black ones. The feeling of being examined thoroughly was still in L's gaze. Light felt like those eyes were staring straight through him and could access every part of his being. Light felt at lost for words so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"You look good with blue eyes."

"…"

There was an awkward and pregnant pause as Light attempted to fix what he had just said. "L, the deal is simple. I save a certain number of lives to make up for being Kira and you and I go free. If I fail, well, what happens when anyone fails?"

L stared at Light harshly. "You were always a pig-headed idiot weren't you? Why couldn't you have just left well enough alone? I didn't ask you to save me. You aren't a god! You can't fix everything!"

Light felt his anger rise at L's words. "I didn't ask you to save me either!" he hissed, "why did you do it anyways? I killed you. I'm the one that caused you to fail. Why did you save me? Was there some warped sense of justice involved!? Did you want me to feel guilty?!"

For a moment L seemed to flounder for an answer. Then he recovered but a new expression took light on his face. "I didn't want you to suffer for one mistake."

Light was stunned and at lost for words. The look of sadness on L's face was heartbreaking. He had never seen so many expressions on L's face as he did tonight. He gently reached up and slid his arms around L. "Thanks then," he murmured softly suddenly regretting yelling at the man.

From behind them Neko came up and pressed his palm to L's forehead. L attempted to move but Neko held fast and a moment later Light caught the slump form of AJ in his arms. Light laid AJ down on the bed and pulled the sheets over him. He then turned to Neko. "What just happened here?"

"Well, I suppressed the L part of AJ's soul and-"

"No, not that, I meant why was L here in the first place?"

Light's question was met with silence. Neko looked away from Light, deep in thought.

"Remember?" he asked slowly, "when I told you to complete this mission quickly because it would have a negative effect on AJ. Well it will have a negative effect on L too because L should no longer exist. The soul is the only part of your being that is passed on but L's mind was passed along too, just like yours. However, L's reincarnate also developed a new personality unlike you. This would not have been a problem if you weren't around because then there'd be no stimulus to help L remember anything. Now that you are here though, L's old personality will fight with AJ, his new one."

"So, how is this bad for either of them?" Light inquired.

"I was getting there if you'd be a little more patient," Neko snapped, "anyways the conflict won't hurt L or AJ mentally but rather spiritually. This means their soul will be damaged, which in turns means that even if you succeed here and now it may not make any difference."

Light stared at Neko hard. "I won't make a difference?"

"If L's soul becomes to damaged then it may not be able to be reborn. This is why I want you to finish this case as soon as possible. The less contact you have with AJ, the less chance you'll be the stimulus to cause L to reawaken."

"Is there a way for you to permanently suppress L's mind?" as Light asked that question he suddenly felt oddly guilty and ashamed.

"No," Neko replied, "but I think I'll go back and talk with the other Guardians about this incident to see what we can do. So I'll see you in awhile."

Suddenly, for the first time in about twenty years Neko was gone. Light stared into the darkness where Neko had just stood. He then got up and went over to AJ's sleeping form. This was turning out to be more complicated then Light had imagined. AJ looked peaceful as he slept and Light wondered how much sleep he usually got. It was quite late now so Light decided to go back to sleep also but as he lay there on his bed he couldn't get to sleep. L, L had come back. Light felt an irrational anger towards the man right now. L had caused him a copious amount of stress while he had been alive and now he was doing it again. L always strove to make things more complicated than they really were. Light sighed and slipped his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Hopefully they would be able to figure out who Kira was and end this quickly.

The next morning Light woke to his alarm clock beeping. He groggily turned toward it and smacked a fist on it. Light turned toward AJ's bed and saw it was empty; he was probably in the showers. Light wondered if AJ remembered anything from the previous night. Light slid out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and went off to the communal bathrooms they had at the university. The halls were still deathly quiet as the holiday was still on for the weekend. Light could see a few students around but the atmosphere was still subdued.

In the communal bathroom, it was also eerily quiet. Light wondered where AJ was if he wasn't in the bathroom. He decided to figure it out later after a nice shower. He placed his things onto an open shelf and began to strip. Once finished he wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed some shampoo. Light wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings and didn't realize the shower in the stall he was headed for had started again. Therefore, when he flung open the shower curtain a very fine looking backside greeted him. Light choked and the person turned around. It was AJ. Light got a very nice frontal view also, which nearly killed him. They both stared in a shocked silence for a moment and then AJ flung an arm out and whipped the curtain back into place.

Light stared at the blue shower curtain in shock. What had he just done? OMG OMG OMG!! He pretty sure AJ was going to kill him or at least get a new partner.

"Hiyashi-san," came AJ's voice over the sound of water, "it would be best for the both of us if this incident _never_ occurred. Understand?"

Light managed to find his voice again and hastily agreed. There was an absolute silence on the other side of the curtain. Light hastily moved toward the last shower stall as far away from AJ as possible. Getting away from AJ wasn't Light's only reason for choosing the last stall. If bulge below his waistline was any indication, he had just gotten hard over another man. Light was horrified and he did not want to be caught with it in the men's locker room. He jumped into the shower and turned the water on cold. The fact that he had just gotten hard over a man was not helping his mood at all. He shook his head to clear all thoughts of AJ's smooth, pale, ivory skin.

When Light finally left the shower, AJ had long since left the bathroom. For that Light was grateful. He didn't want any awkward moments over the sink while he brushed his teeth or something.

Suddenly the door swung open and for a moment, Light thought AJ had returned. It wasn't AJ but another young man. He gave Light a slow, shy grin and went to the showers. Light wondered why the man had remained at the school or had he just come back early? Light wondered who the guy was. When Light finished he headed back to the dorm a bit reluctantly. Facing AJ was not on his to do list this morning.

He tentatively opened the door to the room and found AJ in an intense argument over the phone. He closed the door quietly behind him causing AJ to look up. A faint flush appeared on his face but disappeared quickly as he muttered something into the phone. He then scribbled something down and closed his phone. He looked up again at Light.

"Arcanum intends on sending two other people in to help us because they want this case completed as soon as possible. Therefore, today we will examining possible student and teacher suspects." With that, AJ pointed to a suitcase full of files and a lab top. Light felt some relief AJ wasn't about to make any snide comment about the morning's incident like L would have. His relief was a little over shadowed by the fact he would be spending the day staring at a computer screen as he did for months of his previous life.

They spent the next few hours poring over the files and information about the students and teachers at Kinki U. Light thanked the gods Kinki U was a small school with only four thousand students and five hundred teachers. That may have still seemed like a lot but most of the people had already been eliminated by AJ's powerful deductive reasoning or at least Light hoped it was good.

After an excruciating amount of time (5 hours) Light finally decided he had enough. He had managed to make separate piles of possible suspects ranging from those who were highly likely to be the NK and those who didn't have a chance in hell. Light glanced over at AJ who still seemed to be absorbed in his work. The only movement Light could see was AJ's eyes flickering across a page or the lab top screen. Light looked at the time and saw it was way past lunch and he felt a little starved.

"AJ, do you want to take a break and get some lunch?"

There was no response forthcoming so Light called out again and received nothing. Finally he stood up and waved a hand in front of AJ. He blinked and looked at Light with a confused expression.

"What do you require, Hiyashi-san?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat. It is way past lunchtime and we didn't eat breakfast."

"I'm not hungr-" AJ's reply was cut off by a growl coming from his stomach. He flushed darkly when Light began laughing. When Light finally stopped laughing, AJ's face had returned to its normal stoic position with a little haughtiness in it. He got off the bed a little stiffly and moved toward the door. Light grinned as he followed AJ out the door.

They walked down the halls leading to the cafeteria silently. Light found he silence beginning to get irritating and boring. In the cafeteria there were a few students, most of them huddled together looking grim. However, when the two of them came in many of the heads turned to stare, especially the female populace.

"Hey, you want to go and save us a table?" Light whispered to AJ. He wasn't sure why he was whispering.

"Save a table from whom?" AJ shot back. Light glared at AJ, who stared impassively back, not a hint of amusement in his face at all.

"Fine, just get something to eat."

Once they had managed to grab some food, they went to a window seat. From the corner of his eyes Light saw a few girls moving their way. One girl stepped away from the giggling pack and stepped up to their table. Light turned to give his lady killer smile but AJ simply continued staring out the window.

"Ummmm… my friends were wondering if you guys would like to join us. You guys are new right?" the girl gave them a small shy smile.

Light glanced at AJ who had now turned to face the girl.

"Well-" he began but was cut off by AJ.

"We'd love to join you," AJ said, leaning on one elbow and giving the girl a slow, seductive smile. Light felt a chill run through him when he looked at AJ. It was a good and bad chill. They moved and sat with the girl and her friends and were immediately bombarded by questions. Like L, AJ made mountainous attempts to stay out of the conversation, which made Light wonder why he decided to join the girls anyways. When Light managed to answer most of the questions to his annoyance, AJ then began to ask his own. Light realized AJ was steering the conversation to the deaths on the school ground and about the girl who was raped by the first NK victim.

At first the girls were reluctant to talk about such a topic but AJ was very persuasive. They soon found out that it hadn't really been a rape because the guy had been the boyfriend but the next day they broke up so the girl was pissed. The girl found him dead that evening and she had gone into shock. She currently she resided in the psychiatric ward of Kinki Hospital.

Light looked to AJ to see what he thought of the sudden revelation. AJ was feigning a look of extreme interest and Light knew this because his eyes had a far away and thoughtful look. He managed to remove himself from the conversation with promises of another meeting, then he looked to Light who also got up much to the dismay of the girls.

"So we're off to the psych ward?" Light asked. AJ nodded and removed his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Michael, hello? Yea this is AJ. I need access to the psych ward at Kinki hospital. Can you arrange that ... Yea I'll update you on anything I discover. Relax." The conversation continued for a few minutes and Light was strongly reminded of bickering brothers. L had never been like this. Hell, he didn't even hold the cell phone like a normal person. Light didn't realize he had been staring a little too strongly at AJ because he received a confused look then a slap on the arm.

"What was that for?" he muttered.

"You seemed dazed and in a trance and didn't respond when I called your name."

"Oh."

"Come on. Michael's arranged for everything already."

Well, that's fast, Light thought, the miracle of being a secret agent. Half an hour later a car from the agency arrived to pick them up. The hospital was close to school but traffic was killer. It took another half an hour to get to the hospital. Light had never liked hospitals both in his past life and now, especially when he had seen his mother (current one) go into surgery. AJ went up to the receptionist and began speaking to her in a low hushed tone. Light took the time to scan the faces of the people in the lobby. Suddenly he caught sight of the same young man he had met in the communal showers at Kinki U. The young man was leaving the hospital and he looked positively depressed. He was staring at the floor and he made no eye contact with anyone. Light's gaze followed him until he left the hospital. 'I wonder who he came to see?' Light thought.

AJ turned to find Light looking after a young man leaving the hospital and for some strange reason he felt a little jealous. He shook his head and tapped Light lightly on the shoulder indicating for him to follow.

"The girl is on the sixth floor and her name is Hirami Nzimo."

Light and AJ stepped into an elevator and began their ascent. Light felt oddly claustrophobic in the elevator and he wondered why. He had never been claustrophobic before. Was it because of AJ and what had happened last night or because of what happened in the showers? Light didn't know. Light found himself glancing at AJ throughout the entire way up. Was AJ really able to forget what had happened this morning? Would L return if they were alone to long? Light wondered. A part of him hoped not but another part hoped L would return. 'But,' Light mused, 'if L did come back, Neko wasn't around to pull him back and that would be problematic.'

The end of the elevator ride came all to slow for Light. When he got off though, he felt a sense of relief and he wondered if AJ felt the same thing. But AJ had already begun moving down the hall. Light got a sudden shill down his spine as he followed AJ. The psych ward was creepy and extremely quiet. They reached the last door in the hall and Light knocked softly on the door. There was no response from the other side so Light knocked again. He glanced down at AJ who frowned slightly. Light gently pushed open the door and looked inside. A girl sat hugging her knees on top of the bed. Light coughed lightly and then she looked up. When her eyes focused on them, she blinked and then let out a blood-curdling scream. AJ jumped back slightly and stared incredulously at Light. 'What the HELL?' Light thought.

* * *

well hoped you guys enjoyed! nice criticism is welcome but nothing hurtful plz because i did put time and effort into this

oh and the shower scene is dedicated to one of my friends who came up with the idea so srry if it seems random

lol

luv ya all


	8. Chapter 8

ahem...cough cough

please don't kill me for not updating

i've been on vacation for the last month or so...

hope you enjoy this chapter

* * *

"Light what's wrong with her?" AJ asked slightly frightened but trying not to show it. The girl was still screaming and pointing at the two of them. No one seemed to be coming to help either. What she was screaming Light couldn't fathom for the life of him. The inane babble was getting on Light's last nerve and it was clearly getting on AJ's too because he quickly left and said he would find help.

Light cautiously entered the room. By now the girl's screaming had been reduced to quiet sobbing and muttering. Her face was hidden in her arms as if she were trying to hide from something. Light moved close enough that he could hear her mutterings, although her voice was muffled he could now make out distinct words.

"Stop following me…I haven't done anything…please stop…I'm sorry… please just… just go away!"

Light drew back slightly at her words. Was she talking to him? or about something else?

"Nzimo-san? Are you all right?"

The girl looked up at Light with red-rimmed eyes that looked positively frightened. Suddenly, she looked startled and looked around as if looking for something.

"It is gone," she whispered. 'Was she talking about AJ?' Light wondered. 'Why would she call him an it?'

"Nzimo-san, I would like to ask you some questions if you are up to it. My name is Hiyashi Yuuta. I'm a police officer in charge of the investigation about the murder of the man found in your room."

The girl looked up vacantly at him. 'Well, hopefully she's well enough to answer some questions,' Light thought. He'd address the screaming at a later time.

"I want to ask you about what happened the night you found the dead man in your room."

"I didn't want that to happen to him! I was just mad at him. Are the gods punishing me for doing what I did?" the girl asked, staring up at Light her eyes pleading.

"Start from the beginning Nzimo-san," Light said using his best sympathetic voice. He sat down gently on the bed beside her. The girl slumped slightly and looked down at her hands. Light could detect the discomfort radiating from her body. He suddenly wondered why they had placed her in a psychiatric ward, she didn't seem at all crazy except for the initial screaming, which light wanted to get to the bottom of too.

"How far should I go back?" she whispered.

"As far back as you need to," Light replied. The girl still looked a little uncomfortable and confused so Light decided to prompt her along.

"Okay, how about you start with who the man was. You knew him right?"

"…he was my boyfriend…I really loved him," the girl hiccupped. Light realized she was crying and against his better judgment he leaned over and placed an arm around her.

"Then right before my twenty-first birthday, he told me we were through. No reasons, no explanations, just minute he was there and the next he was gone," the girl continued, "I didn't see him until after I came home from my birthday party and I saw all of…well…you probably saw it too." She gave a small shudder and huddled closer to Light. "At first I didn't understand what had happened, I could only stand there until one of my friends showed up and called the police." She paused for a moment a look of pure concentration and debate on her face.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" she whispered.

"Well, no," Light responded, "you haven't exactly done anything crazy." If you don't count the screaming, Light thought.

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy now though," the girl said despondently.

"Oh, why is that?" Light asked calmly. Everyone is probably right, he thought.

She looked up at Light and then glanced around. She looked suspiciously around the room for a moment then turned back to Light.

"Ever since that night I've been able to see things," she mumbled. "Scary things that aren't normal."

The girl turned to look at Light. "That night," she continued, "someone opened my diary. After I called the police, I was about to leave but I saw my diary. Someone had opened it and it was lying on my desk. Someone had stuck a leaf of paper in there. When I turned the paper over, I saw writing on it. When I took a closer look, it had my boy-ex-boyfriend's name on it and this other creepy stuff describing how he died." She finished her retelling disgustedly and angry.

Light felt a cold chill settle over him. "Where is this piece of paper? Did you show it to anyone?" Light asked urgently.

The girl shook her head rapidly, "I panicked when the police showed up so I pushed the paper back into the diary and put the diary on the shelf. Then I forgot about after all the questioning." The girl's voice sounded strained and Light feared she was about to break down again but she seemed to develop a resolve to talk. "It was about two days later when I began to notice something strange," she shivered, "a black shape kept appearing wherever I went. It always seemed to appear in broad daylight too. I got scared and tried to tell people. Then one day about two weeks ago, I saw it. It was a disgusting, horrible, deformed thing. A demon."

She saw Ryuk, Light thought, so he really is around and Neko was right. The girl must have taken Light's silence as a negative because she suddenly pulled away from him.

"See I knew you'd think I was crazy."

"No, no I don't," Light replied firmly.

"You don't?" Nzimo asked, surprise lacing her words.

"No I believe you and I promise I'll fix this," he said firmly. Light got up and told her to rest. As she curled up under the sheets, Light was strongly reminded of his little sister from a lifetime ago, Sayu.

"Nzimo-chan, would you like to leave here? I can arrange it," Light whispered softly.

The girl looked up startled, then she turned away from Light, looking ashamed. "No, I think I'll stay here. I don't want to have to deal with things…," she answered quietly. Only now did Light realize the extent of the trauma she had endured. She looked so small and timid under the sheets.

"All right then," he said giving her light smile, "I'll visit you again." The girl nodded and Light stepped out. In the hall he saw AJ making his way down with a nurse in tow. AJ looked impassive but Light could tell he was worried because he was chewing lightly on his thumb. A trait Light realized he had in common with L.

"How is she?" AJ asked.

"She's fine now," Light said in a clipped tone. He didn't want to reveal anything in front of the nurse. AJ took the hint and politely thanked the nurse, then he and Light left the hospital.

"What did you find out?" AJ demanded his expression intense, which Light found amusing.

"Well, aren't we impatient," Light said teasingly. AJ glared at him.

"Okay, sorry, lighten up a little."

"Over my dead body," AJ muttered darkly. Light heard him and he remembered a pale white form falling into his arms. His steps faltered and AJ immediately noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll tell you what she said when we get back to the dorms," Light said tersely. He was really hating these sudden flashbacks and memories of last night didn't help either.

AJ looked like he was about to argue for moment but he just turned away.

They silently headed back to the car, neither of them speaking. Back at the university, Light still felt the oppressive weight of his sudden flashback and the silence had now become very awkward. They finally reached their dorm room but before they were able to enter, voices called out to them. They were the girls they had been eating lunch with earlier.

"We were wondering where you guys went off too," one of the girls said. Light tried to put a name to the face but his memory failed him. AJ, however, did not seem to have this problem.

"Yumi-chan," he said jubilantly, "we were just exploring the school and finding out where our classes are."

"Oh, do you guys need help?" another girl asked, batting her eyes at AJ.

"Ah, no we're done and I believe Hiyashi-san is a little tired now," AJ responded.

Light wanted to punch AJ for that but the girls looked very sympathetic and caring so Light just gave a fake tired yawn.

"Well if you ever need any help, just call us, Yumi said looking straight at Light. Light gave her a charming smile and as she was leaving Light could feel her brush up against him. Girls were still the same-prone to be attracted to a pretty face.

He and AJ entered the room and sat on their respective beds. AJ looked intently at Light. He didn't say anything but his gaze was anything but patient. Light sighed and decided to start talking.

"The girl wasn't really crazy," he began. AJ looked skeptical and was about to retort when Light continued, "there is a plausible explanation for the screaming."

AJ interrupted, "while I was out looking for someone to help, I had some interesting discussions with nurses and doctors about that girl though. Some of the things aren't pleasant." He looked at Light, "that's not the first time she's been hospitalized for having mental…shortcomings. It all escalated after her around…ummm…three years ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"She's been hospitalized frequently for suicide attempts and causing harm to herself through various means. Now she's in the psych ward again so I contacted my people and got a file sent to me about her along with what we already have. She appears to follow in the occult, is an avid follower of the Kira cult, and has contributed to their cause on more than one occasion. These were the most prominent things on the file."

Light could see where AJ was going with all of the information but he still wasn't sure if it was plausible.

"You don't honestly think that that girl is the New Kira, do you?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't see why she couldn't be. She does not have a good alibi the night her boyfriend died, she has a suspicious background and everything started after her incident."

"AJ, I'm sure she's not the killer," Light said firmly, "all this stuff is simply speculation and none of it is concrete. She doesn't seem like the type."

AJ snorted, "type? You must be joking. You're chief of Tokyo police and you still have this kind of trust in people. Looks are always deceiving. You can't trust a suspect or anyone else, no matter what." AJ stood up to stretch. "Light, don't get attached to your suspects, it'll only make you susceptible to failure."

Light contemplated what AJ had just said. The situation was familiar, it had been the one he and L had shared. Light sighed, even when he wasn't L, AJ seemed to know everything. Now Light was debating whether or not to AJ about the diary and ultimately Ryuk. Light still remembered L's initial reaction to hearing about shinagamis and to Rem. He wondered how AJ would react. But if he did tell AJ, AJ would know how NK was killing and what clues to look for. Another plus was the case might end quicker and Light could avoid prolonged contact with AJ. Neko would be happy about that. Speaking of Neko, the guardian had yet to return. Light wondered what was keeping him. Having Neko around would be helpful right about now.

But Neko wasn't here so Light made his decision. "AJ, where is Nzimo's diary? Did you take it?"

AJ looked bewilderedly at Light and pointed to a pile of papers the desk. On the top was the diary.

"Did you open it yet?"

AJ shook his head. Light got up, plucked the diary off the table, and grabbed a paperclip. He bent the paperclip then began to pick the lock. He found it was more difficult than AJ had made it looked. Finally, he heard the lock click and the diary snapped open.

And there it was, the piece of Deathnote the girl had spoken about. There wasn't a single distinguishing feature about the piece as far as Light could tell but he knew it was still a sheet from a Deathnote. He had used one for so long and now here was another. Light reached out to touch it.

"Hiyashi-san, did you find something?" AJ inquired.

"Yeah," Light murmured, "AJ, I need you to come look at this."

AJ stood up and went over to Light and looked over his shoulder. He reached down to grab the diary and the Deathnote paper but Light's hand encircled his wrist, stopping him.

"AJ, do you believe in Shinagamis?"

"What? What kind of question is that? Isn't it usually 'do you believe in ghosts'?"

"Shut up," Light said. He wasn't sure how to explain it to AJ and it was becoming awkward. Maybe this was a bad idea. "Never mind just look at this will you."

AJ snorted, "what are you getting so worked up about?" His eyes narrowed as he pulled the paper out and read what was written on it.

"This is a large piece of evidence!" AJ exclaimed, "why didn't she tell the police about it?"

"Well, technically she did. She told me."

AJ scoffed but said nothing as he examined the paper. Light watched him closely, he'd just have to let AJ see for himself that shinagamis did exist. It was the only way AJ would believe him anyways. Light just hoped it wouldn't be at an extremely inopportune moment. He reached out and took the paper out of AJ's hand.

"You still think she's the killer?"

"Yes, there's a 51 chance she could be the killer."

"But-"

"Hiyashi-san, I think you're letting your emotions for the girl cloud your judgment. She probably reminds you of some female relative or acquaintance. Or have you developed some feelings for her?"

"No, I'm not and I haven't."

AJ, however, was no longer paying attention to Light. He was typing rapidly on his computer.

"I plan on putting her under surveillance in the hospital though until we find a better suspect."

Light groaned, AJ hadn't been listening to him at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Night came upon Light all too slowly. He had been sent out by AJ to keep up the pretense that they were college students and AJ claimed he had terrible people kills which was a blatant lie. Light figured that AJ probably wanted to work alone. So Light had been left with the task of mingling with the populace. Light had called up Yumi and asked if she knew any good places to hang out. He was immediately drowned by suggestions of places they could go. Light felt like shooting himself.

When he had complained to AJ, he got no sympathy from the detective who was busily typing god-know-what on his computer. AJ had condescendingly called "fieldwork" (Light called it ulcer inducing) and Light would helping the case by gathering more information from the students on campus. After a long and probably pointless argument where Light lost miserably, AJ kicked him out of the dorm. Light told him he wouldn't be getting much information of those girls. AJ simply waved him off and muttered something indiscernible.

It was around midnight when Light was able to extract himself from Yumi and her group of friends. He was tired and he had discovered nothing knew about the case. He hoped that whatever AJ had been doing was more productive. Light entered the dorms and saw more lights were in the windows now. Most students had returned from the break because classes began tomorrow.

Making his way down dimly lit hallways Light felt a shiver travel down his spine. He felt like he was being watched and followed. The presence did not abate as he climbed the stairs to his room. In actuality the sensation of being followed seemed to get stronger the further he went. Light was becoming increasingly frustrated and every so often he would turn and glance around to see if he could glimpse his current stalker. Finally, Light decided that he had had enough and called out.

"All right, I've had enough. Whoever you are show yourself!" There was no response, only an echo in the stairwell. Light called out angrily again waiting for any sort of response. He was once again greeted by his own echo and silence.

"Hyuk, hyuk," came laughter from behind him, Light swiveled around and saw a black miasma move out wall behind him. locking eyes with the creature before him, Light hissed one word, "Ryuk."

The shinagami leered callously at Light. "I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me."

"Please," Light spat contemptuously, "I sensed you ever since I got on campus."

Ryuk just chuckled.

"Ryuk, why are you here? Did you leave another Deathnote lying around or should I ask who has a Deathnote now? Someone does have one now, am I right? That's how all these killings have been happening."

"Now, now, Light, that's cheating. If you want to know about that, you'll have to figure it out yourself. It's not my problem."

Light wished he could punch the shinagami but he banished that thought.

"So you got bored again, then?" Light drawled lazily, "do the same rules apply as before?"

If Ryuk had eyebrows to raise, he would have.

"Rules Light?"

"You know the things you told me when you first dropped my Deathnote. Things like you wouldn't interfere with the Deathnote holder or give them unnecessary help."

"Light, you don't have to worry. I won't kill you or that little detective you keep at your side at all times. That just wouldn't be very fun or entertaining. I'm not Rem either and I still think you're more interesting than they are."

"They?" Light asked, catching the slip, "there's more than one?" he took a step forward.

"Hyuk, hyuk, well…" Ryuk was about to respond when Light's cell phone rang. He fumbled for it, when the door behind him slammed open.

"Ah, Hiyashi-san, you're already here," AJ said. Light turned to face him in surprise. "Did you find out anything more? I found some interesting stuff but-" Light followed his gaze as AJ looked over Light's shoulder.

"Helloooo L," Ryuk chuckled.

"What is-" he never finished his question. Light watched as AJ grasped his head and stumbled against the doorframe. His eyes rolled back and Light barely caught him in time.

Ryuk cackled madly.

* * *

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...feels like this ending was similar to another

oh well

til next time


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